Black Water • Emmett Cullen [Broken Soul Series: Book Two]

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Once Summer officially began, Emmett and Alaina were inseparable. If they weren't spending time with each other during the day, he would make sure to see her before she went to sleep. Ever since the baseball game, when Emmett never came back to her home, he was there every single evening to say goodnight and every single dawn to wish her a good morning.

"I'm just taking a page out of Edward's book, babe," he would say, struggling to keep his naturally booming voice quiet enough so that her parents wouldn't be suspicious. He would then sneak into her bed where they would kiss and go as far as they could right before Emmett lost control. Pulling away, Alaina would sigh, her frustration palpable through the darkness of her room, while she struggled to catch her breath.

During the rare moments that Alaina and Emmett were not together, Alaina was with Bella. Although she was her best friend and loved her like a sister, Bella's obsession with becoming a vampire was overwhelming to Alaina, and Bella was becoming increasingly obsessed with her age. After having a nightmare where she was an old woman and still with Edward as a young man, she became insufferable with both Alaina and her boyfriend about becoming a vampire.

Alaina felt it was inevitable for her friend. With Edward's captivation with Bella and Bella's sheer annoyance (some would call her strong-willed, but not Alaina), Alaina was sure that Edward would eventually break and give her what she wanted. In an odd way, she was jealous of her. Bella seemed to know exactly what she wanted in terms of her future. She knew she wanted to be with Edward and she knew she wanted to turn.

But for Alaina? Not so much. She loved Emmett more than anything -- she was certain of that. She also thought she wanted to be with him, well, forever, But she didn't know if it was Emmett's version of forever or the normal human version of forever. There were so many factors that needed to be figured out if that were to happen: what about college? What about her parents? Bella had tunnel-vision; Alaina was more practical. It was starting to annoy her to the point where she would avoid spending time with her.

Summer seemed to end as quickly as it began, and before she knew it, Alaina was back at school, getting into the swing of things once more. But this year, she would be without her boyfriend during the school day as he had graduated, once again.

"Alaina!" Her mother yelled from downstairs. The smell of fresh waffles wafted up the stairs, causing Alaina's stomach to lurch uncomfortably with hunger. "Bella's here!"

"Coming!" She said, pulling up her long, wavy hair into a high pony-tail. She threw on her rain jacket and ran downstairs to see a paper plate full of waffles waiting for her.

"A weird breakfast-to-go, but I'll take it," Alaina laughed, grabbing the plate of waffles. Her mother gave her a quick hug and a kiss on the cheek before Alaina turned to head out the door.

"Wish Bella a happy birthday from us!"

"Will do! Bye, Mom!" She said, closing the door behind her. She walked outside expecting to see a silver Volvo in the driveway, but instead, she saw a large, old red truck and no vampire anywhere in sight. She cocked her head in confusion, jumping into Bella's truck.

"Morning," Bella said nonchalantly, putting the truck in reverse.

"Morning to you too," she said, putting on her seatbelt. She handed her a waffle, a peace offering, as she knew Bella would not love the conversation they were about to have. "Dare I ask why Edward isn't here? Or is it because today is the day that cannot be mentioned."

She groaned. "I just -- I hate my birthday," she said. Alaina paused, expecting her to continue, but she didn't.

"Can I ask why?" She said gently. "If you don't want to tell me, you don't have to. I'm just curious."